Cyril Ramaphosa promised to collaborate with politicians from all parties after being reelected as President of South Africa by lawmakers on Friday.
“I will serve everyone and work even with those who did not support me,” Ramaphosa said to the National Assembly in Cape Town.
His reelection followed a dramatic coalition agreement between his African National Congress (ANC) and the main opposition party, along with others, securing him a second term.
Ramaphosa won decisively in a Parliamentary vote against an unexpected challenger, Julius Malema, leader of the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters.
Ramaphosa received 283 votes to Malema’s 44 in the 400-member house.
The 71-year-old secured his second term with support from lawmakers of the Democratic Alliance (DA) and others after the ANC lost its 30-year parliamentary majority in a landmark election two weeks prior.
The ANC and the DA — once fierce rivals — signed an agreement just hours before the presidential vote, ensuring Ramaphosa’s return as leader of Africa’s most industrialized economy.
The parties will now co-govern South Africa in its first national coalition where no party holds a majority.
